At the halfway point of the New NHL’s first season, this much we know:

* There is no reason to back down from the preseason choice of the Ottawa Senators as the Stanley Cup champions. In fact, Dominik Hasek was a major question mark going in, because of his age and recent injury problems, and he has proven to be resilient and among the game’s elite.

* The only reason it’s not possible to already write the identities of the eight Western Conference playoff teams into the bracket – in ink – is the trade that sent Joe Thornton from Boston to San Jose. The Sharks will climb back into the top eight, and that’s significant because the reality is that to make the postseason, the Avs will have to pass one of the seven teams in front of them.

* The exceptional two-season crop of rookies, including Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but not stopping there, again illustrates that the league’s reluctance to promote individuals is short-sighted and counterproductive. And the same is true of the rarity of interconference games, which means the new stars come to the cities in the opposite conference only once every three seasons.

* We’d again mention that Avalanche defenseman Karlis Skrastins not only has the NHL’s longest ironman streak, but the fact that he is the league’s best shot blocker makes it amazing that he hasn’t taken a shot in a vulnerable spot and missed a game or two or 20. We’d mention that his streak was 394 after the Saturday game with Columbus, but that might jinx him.

* If Philadelphia’s Simon Gagne stops at Pat’s or Gino’s for a cheesesteak sandwich after a home game, Peter Forsberg orders for him (“Cheesesteak, double meat, with”), setting him up there, too.

* Where have you gone, Larry Robinson? Wherever that is, get well.

* Teemu Selanne is having a surprisingly strong year at Anaheim. Paul Kariya has been OK with Nashville. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, why the Avalanche didn’t give them a sustained shot to play together on a line with Joe Sakic – and what might have happened if they had. Yes, Kariya was injured for much of the first half of last season, but he returned to the lineup Jan. 6, 2004, and played the rest of the season.

* Nikolai Khabibulin, signed to a rich free-agent contract in the offseason, and currently out with a groin injury, should offer to take at least a 24 percent pay cut from the Blackhawks. He is one of those rare athletes who make good teams better, yet bad teams worse.

* Contrary to many purists’ fears, the elimination of the red line in determining two- line passes hasn’t led to a glaring increase in cherry-picking. And that’s too bad. The smartest coaches will further encourage opened throttles that way, understanding the potential payoff for most teams – at least as long as some aspects of conventional thinking linger in the New NHL’s transitional period – outweighs the risks.

* The anti-obstruction enforcement isn’t unrelenting and the standards aren’t consistent as early in the season, but this isn’t anything close to a full-scale retreat, either. And from here on, the stupid teams and players that haven’t adapted will deserve not just whistles, but scorn.

* Parity? Though there has been some realignment of power, the league still is bottom-heavy, with some of the usual suspects rounded up at the bottom. And even more significant, don’t we all have the feeling that after this season of feeling out the effects of the salary-cap era and one full offseason of maneuvering under the new system, the elite executives again will find more ways to outsmart their competitors?

* The leader in the clubhouse for coach of the year should be Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff.

Sidneymania

When the Penguins played in Toronto and Montreal last week, the clamor was reminiscent of The Beatles coming to New York in 1964. The reason, of course, was Crosby, who was made available on game days to the media before the morning skates – but not after. And fans hoping to get a glimpse of him shadowed the Penguins’ entourage.

“I’m not surprised because he has a huge impact, especially in Canada,” Penguins coach Michel Therrien told reporters. “But I’ve never seen something like this.”

Wild in the nets

If Minnesota falls out of contention for a playoff spot, and maybe even if it doesn’t, goalie Manny Fernandez (making $1.67 million this season) will be available for the right offer. That’s because the Wild is enamored of prospect Josh Harding, now playing in the AHL, and Fernandez, 31, can become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. At this point, though the Wild is playing it as close to the vest as possible in the New NHL, Fernandez is leading the league in goals- against and save percentage. Minnesota general manager Doug Risebrough told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he would trade Fernandez within the Northwest Division “if it’s the right thing to do.”

Chicago is …

… a losing kind of town. At least in the NHL. With the Blackhawks’ losing streak at nine heading into today’s game against Nashville, veterans such as Matthew Barnaby ($1.3 million), Adrian Aucoin ($4 million) and Martin Lapointe ($2.4 million) are among those who could be had for anything remotely face-saving for the Hawks.

A graduate of Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Colorado, Terry Frei has been named a state's sportswriter of the year seven times -- four times in Colorado and three times in Oregon. He's the author of seven books, including the novel "Olympic Affair" about Colorado's Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic decathlon champion; and "Third Down and a War to Go," about the 1942 football national champion Wisconsin Badgers and the players' subsequent World War II heroism.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.